Wave-driven pumping gear



May 7, 1929. a i -'11,712,233

WAVE DRIVEN PUMPING GEAR V Filed April 25, 19127- l vel.

Patented May 7, 1929.

TM srATEs GIUSEPJPE BURGELTTA, OF GENOA, ITALY.

WAVE-DRIVEN PUMPING Application filed April 25, 192?. Serial No. 188,299.

This invention relates to wave-driven pumping gear and has for an object to provide a device which is very simple, cheap in its construction and mounting and effective For use in utilizing the wave moven'ients oi. bodies of water, such as seas or lakes, for raisingwater, and which will avoid all unnecessary strains due to high waves.

Devices employing toe reciprocating movement oi? the waves as a power source are known, such contrivances being; generally of the kind in which a floating body is connected either di ctly, or through suitable gearing, to a plunger element of a pump or the like, in order to raise some or the lake or water into suitable storage tanks or the like, arranged at a suitable height above the water But all the contrivances as hitherto devised present mainly the inconvenience that the floating); body and the reciprocating member of the pun'ip are connected in such a man nor that for each movement or strain exerted on the former there in a correspondingly great u'im'ement or strain upon the pumping element. Thus the rate of flow or eliiciency below the limits of displacement of the reciprocating element of the pump is very small, but just beyond said limits it is transformed into a torce which is transmitted to the pumping gear and driving; connections in the form of serious strains or shocks, which, especially in storms or heavy seas, are very detrimental to the whole of the pumping; gear and supporting structures. 7

Il he object of the present invention is to provide a device which will. overcome the above drawbacks, as the working stroke of the plunger elen'ient will be independent, within wide limits, oil? the possible reciprocal displacements oi? the floating); body driving the pumping gear, which latter will be always immune from unnecessary strains or shocks ca d by the floating body rising above or falling below the useful limits of the working stroke of the p ston-like element, and which will have, above certain limits of height of waves substantially constant etliciency.

l fiith these and other objects in view, the

present invention consists in the special construction of the pumping gear and in the special arrangement of parts connected. therewith, to he fully described hereinafter with respect to one embodiment shown in the accompanyi11;, d rawing.

In the drawing a Figure 1 is a side view 01? an example of construction of a device embodying the in vention Figures 2 and 3 are horizontal sectional views respectively on lines IIII and lill lll of Figure 1;

Figure lis a vertical section through the pump in enlarged scale;

Figure a partial sectional view on line VV of Figure 4-.

On the bottom of the sea or lake is mounted a suitable vertical supl'iorting structure, pret erably made of upright angle bars 1, such structure supporting at suitable heights a number or" platforms 3, 4t, 5 or the like, which serve to lo and support the controlling; member at the system. in the example shown between the two platter-ins 3 and 41; and suit ably 'lj'astened thereto are mountedl' vo pa] lel. plates 3, i3 suitably leveled and sn'ioolhed in their inner opposed surfaces, the said plates combining to constitute the pump cas ing. lletween the said two plates are arranged two movable members 7, 7 formed or two l" shaped plates, the leg of the T being turnml outwardly, and the said elements being}; bent at their middle portions so as to assume a V-SllflPG with. the wide side of the V opening; to the exterior.

Each of the said HIOIHlJOlS hearsatthe ver tel; oi the V-shaped elen'ient a hinge eye 8, 8' in which a pivot threaded, fastened to the plates 6, G, the other end oi? thelower hinged arm being also formed with a l'iinge-eye 9, 9 by means oi which it is hinged to another movable elen'lent 10, 10' of like section to the former but straight. These movable members 10, 10 are of a length that is equal to that oil? the lower arms of the members 7, 7' and are hinged at their lower ends 11, 11

to a transverse member 12 which is also inevable so that the lower arms oi? the members 10, 10 and the piece 12 form an articulated polygon, which is symn'ietrical with regard to the vertical axis of the tom. A fixed transverse D'lOH'llJOl 13 closes the space be tween hinges 8, t and members 7, 7, so that by arranging suitable packings 1 1-. on all the free sides of the said polygon, so as to allow the said packings to remain incontact with the smoothed inner faces of'plates 6, 6, a closed chamber will be formed between the said polygonal element and'the said plates,

' the capacity of which will'vary according to izo the positions of members 7, 7 pivoting on hinge joints 8, 8. The chamber will have a minimum capacity when the sides of the polygon are parallel (the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 4) and a maximum corresponding tothe vertical position of the upper arms of members 1, (shown in full lines of Figure4) when the said arms come into contact withthe fixed stops 15.

These periodical variations of capacity correspond respectively to a compression stroke forcing liquid through valve 16 mounted on one of the plates 6,6 in a s itable position, and to a suction stroke for allowing water to pass through a suitable valve 17 mounted on ment of the members 7, 7', two sliding trolleys 18, 18 are provided, each trolley being formed by a stirrup member 19 including between its inturned wings the plates 6, 6.

. The outer edges of the said wings are bent at right angles and are thus at right angles to the plates 6, .6. On each of the said bent edges presses a pair of horizontal springs 22 abutting at their ends against the wing of an angle plate which is parallel and adj acentto thestirrup wingl9. This bent wing of the angle plate has a pivot threaded through a horizontal slot out in the wing of the piece 19, there being mounted on the inner end of the pivot a suitable roller which is allowed to roll along one of the vertical guides 20, 20' outwardly fastened on the borders of plates 6, 6. Each stirrup member 19 is consequently forced by the pressure of two pairs of springs 22 against the inturned border flanges of the stirrup l9 andis guided at the same time along the guides 20, 20 on four rollers. Each stirrup 19'bears aforked ex- I tension extemlingcentrally between plates 6,

6. Between the two arms ofthis extension is mounted a suitable grooved roller 21 on a suitable pin threaded through the said arms.

The roller 21 bears withits groove against the wing of the associated T-shaped member.

.Thusthe pressure transmitted by springs 22 abutting against their respective rollers to the member 19 acts finally on the wing of the T-shaped member through the grooved roller 7 21. Each trolley 18, 18 thus formed is also connected by means of sleeves 23 to vertical barsQl, 247. These two bars after having passed through suitable guides 25, 25 in the platform 4 are connected together by a yoke 26 to a single central bar 27 threaded through a guide sleeve in the platform 5, and is attached at the water level to a suitable floating body 28, which is guided in its vertical movement by means of suitable guide columns 2!) and limited in its upward movement by a suitable platform stop or the like 30. Soilable rods 31 connect the platforms 30 and .7, thus strengthening the structures.

From the foregoing dcscri 'ition the working of the above device will be clear. \Vhen the floating body descemls in a wave trough the trolleys 18, 18 travel down the lowcr portions of arms 7, T forcing them togctln-r by making them pi vot around around the pivots 8, 8 andconsequently reducing the capacity ofthe chamber between the dc tormable pol ygon; and when the floating body rises again, the said trolleys, having left the lowcr arm portions, move up along the upper arms of members 7, 7 thus imparting to them a. rotation in a. contrary direction until they become parallel to one another, thus increasing the. capacity of the polygon. ]n this manner the working and suction strokes are eifected.

Every movement of the floating body beyond the maximum and ll'lllllllllllll limits of the deformation of the polygon has no effect on it; the floating body is allowed to rise and fall beyond the useful working limits independently of the working st roke of the pump and only within the constructirmal limits of the sliding surfaces of the structure, which surfaces may be as great as possible, independently of the working capacity per full stroke, which is only dependent upon the characteristics of the pump.

It is apparent that many constrmi-tional variations of the example described and shown are possible. This example is to be considered only as explanatory. 1n practice the elements which remain in contact with the water will be suitably protected from rust and incrustations. Moreover the pump as well as the floating body system will admit also of many constructional variations within the limits of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Claims:

1. In wave-driven pumping gear, a pumplng element including two fixed plates parallel to one another and having smooth inner opposed faces, substantially V-shaped elements mounted between said plates on pivots extending transversely thereof, other movable elements hinged attheir upper ends to the lower ends of said V-shaped elements, means hingedly connecting the lower ends of said other elements to constitute a parallelogram with the lower ends of said V-shaped elements, packings between the movable elements and the fixed plates attached to the former, suction and pressure valves on the fixed plates, a floating body, and means attached to said floating body and actuated by its movements to operate said V-shaped and other elements.

2. In wave-driven pumping gear, a pumping element lncluding two fixed plates parallel to one another and having smooth inner opposed faces, substantially V-shaped elements mounted between said plates on pivots extending transversely thereof, other movable elements hinged at their upper ends to the lower ends of said V-shaped elements, means hingedly connecting the'lower ends of said other elements to constitute a parallelograin with the lower ends of said V-shaped elements, packings between the movable elements and the fixed plates attached to the former, suction and pressure valves on the lixed plates, a floating body, guide rails parallel to the pumping element, control slides movable along said rails and including rollers adapted to bear-against said V-shaped elements, and means connecting said floating body to said slides.

3. A wave-driven pumping gear comprising a pumping device including a chamber having expansible and contractible side walls, slides having rollers engageable with said side walls to operate said pumping device, and a floating body connected with said. slides for operating the same to actuate said pumping device in accordance with the movements of said floating body.

4:. A wave-driven pumping gear in accordance with claim 3, in which said chamber includes two parallel fixed plates and in which portions of said expansible and contractible side walls are formed of V-shaped members which are engaged by said rollers, the remaining portions of said side walls being connected to the V-shaped members, an upper fixed plate secured to the first named plates forming a closure for the upper end of said chamber, a vertically slidable plate forming a lower closure for said chamber, and suction and pressure valves arranged on said first named fixed plates.

5. A wave-driven pumping gear in accordance with claim 3, in which said chamber includes two parallel fixed plates and in which portions of said expansible and con tractible side walls are formed of V-shaped members which are engaged by said rollers, the remaining portions of said side walls being connected to the V-shaped members, an upper fixed plate secured to the first named plates and forming a closure for the upper end of said chamber, a vertically slidable plate forming a lower closure for said ehamber, suction and pressure valves arranged on said first named fixed plates, and platforms limiting the movements of said floating body.

6. A wave-driven pumping gear in accordance with claim 3, in which said chamber includes two parallel fixed plates and in which portions of said expansible and contractible side walls are formed of V-shaped members which are engaged by said rollers, the remaining portions of said side walls being connected to the V-shaped members, an upper fixed plate secured to the first named plates and forming a closure for the upper end 01 said chamber, a vertically slidable plate forming a lower closure for said chamber, suction and pressure valves arranged on said first named fixed plates, said V-shaped ele-.

GIUSEPPE BORGA l'lA. 

